Can Sports Champions 2 surpass Wii Sports Resort?
The original Sports Champions was a decent enough game and did well to show off Move’s capabilities, although it wasn’t quite as fun as the likes of Wii Sports and Resort. The game that felt the best in the original was Archery and it’s the only sport from the first game to return for the sequel, while others enter the fray including boxing, bowling, skiing, tennis and golf. Yes, it does sound very familiar to Wii Sports, but is there more to it than that?
Bowling and golf are easy to control, but difficult to master. Tennis is a mixed bag, it can be fun but there are times you will miss simple shots through no fault of your own. Skiing is just broken and feels so out of place, which is a shame. Boxing falls into the same trap as it did in Wii Sports, it becomes more of a punch-fest instead of tactical moves. Archery is still the strongest by far, but it’s a shame you can only play these sporting events with AI and friends and not online, but there are leaderboards for those competitive enough.
In terms of presentation, Sports Champions 2 is on par with its predecessor. The music is subtle but I found it better to concentrate on things like golf shots with the music turned off, but that’s just a personal preference. Calibrating the Move controller is a lot easier than it was in the past game and takes just seconds, better yet you only have to do it once compared to having to do it for every sport, which is a huge improvement.
The Verdict
It’s a shame that skiing, boxing and tennis aren’t as solid as the other 3 sports in this game, but overall it’s a solid package that will please any owner of a Move controller. It may not give you reason enough to buy one, but it’s a worthy purchase for those who already have one.
